Athletic braces in prior art generally fall into two general categories. The first common category is athletic braces made of a lightweight fabric and are usually tubular shaped to fit tightly over the elbow or knee joints. A second common category are athletic braces that are made from rigid elements that are hinged near the pivot point of the knee or elbow joint and are strapped directly onto the skin. Both of these prior art categories have limitations especially with athletes that want to wear athletic braces during their normal workouts to help prevent injuries to their elbow or knee joints.
Athletic braces that are made of lightweight fabric sleeves have the advantage of everyday usage by athletes because they are simple and easy to put on and the lightweight fabrics available today breathe well and do not irritate the skin. However, these fabric based athletic braces do not offer a high degree of support for the joint and many users of this type of athletic brace complain that they do not protect them enough against elbow or knee injuries especially when playing more demanding sports such as football and basketball. The main design flaw in these flexible designs is that they are too flexible and allow twisting of the elbow or knee joints when running and throwing objects.
In the case of rigid fully framed type athletic braces, essentially the opposite problems occur. Typical users of framed athletic braces complain that they are too large and bulky for everyday use and are so rigid that they cannot flex the elbow or knee joints enough to gain competitive advantages such as a wide receiver attempting to maneuver around a defensive player while leaping for a pass in football.
Indeed, there is a need to provide a better athletic brace that the modern athlete can wear everyday as they practice on the field and can address these noted deficiencies in the prior art.